Monday, January 19, 2015
From: Gary L. Bauer
Remembering Dr. King
Today is a federal holiday honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. President Obama is encouraging Americans to observe the day by performing acts of community service. I would like to add to that suggestion: Let’s honor the man by remembering his cause and what inspired him.
I encourage you to read King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. His words are a reminder that our great social movements, including the very founding of this nation, have been led by men and women of faith striving to make America “a shining city upon a hill.”
Dr. King’s cause was freedom and equality; his inspiration was the word of God and our Declaration of Independence. Yet the cultural and political left keeps trying to kick God out of the public square.
With a black man twice elected president, a black attorney general, a black Supreme Court justice, a black man representing the state of South Carolina in the United States Senate, it would seem there is much to celebrate this Martin Luther King Day.
Unfortunately, a recent Rasmussen poll found that only 17% of Americans believe race relations in America today are “good or excellent,” down from 34% a year ago. Sadly, our country has missed a tremendous opportunity in the past six years.
Will Supremes Redefine Marriage?
The Supreme Court announced Friday afternoon that it will hear cases this term challenging state constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. I must confess, my friends, that I have little confidence that the court will do the right thing.
Two years ago, the justices debated the issue of same-sex “marriage,” and essentially punted. They ruled that the federal government had to recognize same-sex marriages in states that legalized it, but they stopped short of declaring same-sex marriage to be a fundamental right that every state had to recognize.
However, lower federal courts didn’t see it that way. Left-wing judges took the 2013 Windsor decision as a green light to strike down state marriage protection amendments. But two federal courts bucked the trend and upheld the right of the people to define marriage in their states. Now the Supreme Court is stepping in to decide the issue.
Some hold out hope that Justice Anthony Kennedy may be persuaded to leave the regulation of marriage, including its definition, to the states. That would be a huge victory.
While trying to predict how the justices will rule is a tricky business, past behavior is often the best predictor of future behavior. And Justice Kennedy’s past opinions in Romer, Lawrence and Windsor give me little hope he will restrain himself this time.
It seems far more likely that the majority that prevailed in Windsor will prevail once again, to the detriment of the family, religious liberty and our representative democracy. Millions of Americans who voted to preserve the normal meaning of marriage in their states will be told that they are bigots, that their values are irrational and that their votes do not matter. That will be a sad day indeed for a nation founded on the principle of ordered liberty under God.
Hollywood Haters
2014 was not a good year for Hollywood. Revenue was down. Ticket sales were down. So when a film shatters records in January, you’d think Hollywood would cheer, right? Not if the film is patriotic and positively portrays the life of an American hero.
I’m referring to Clint Eastwood’s latest film, “American Sniper,” based on the experiences of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. Released over the weekend, “American Sniper” shattered all January records and is expected to earn more than $100 million.
One entertainment industry analyst told USA Today, “This is staggering. It’s blockbuster numbers in January, the sort of numbers usually reserved for summer films and superhero movies.”
That kind of public outpouring of support was too much for Hollywood’s left-wing. Yesterday, Castro-loving director Michael Moore tweeted that snipers were “cowards,” not “heroes” who would “shoot u in the back.” And actor Seth Rogen compared “American Sniper” to Nazi propaganda.
One movie industry publication writes that there is now a movement among some Academy members to sabotage the film, which has been nominated for six Oscars. They are reportedly passing around an article written by a left-wing professor who hasn’t even seen the movie. His column essentially describes Kyle as an unrepentant murderer.
This is so typical of Hollywood and the left. The traditional values embraced by most Americans are mocked and ridiculed by our cultural and political elites, while they relentlessly force their “morality” into our living rooms, schools, newspapers, history books and laws.
The culture war, my friends, is real.
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